Volvo S40 Prices Paid and Buying Experience

Comments

That's interesting to know. I have always heard that the manufacturer's captive finance company is the only place to get financing for a European delivery program because outside banks and credit unions will not finance a vehicle so far in advance of it being shipped to the US plus they don't know how to deal with you picking it up, driving and insuring it in Europe while under their finance.Unless there is a prepayment penalty, I could finance through Volvo and then refinance at a local credit union it once it is delivered in the US.It would be much more simple if it could be directly financed with a credit union auto loan from the get go.

Don't they usually have a promotion offering one or two free round trip plane tickets?If you use the free tickets, you probably wouldn't be able to obtain the tickets until you are contracted to purchase the vehicle.

We financed our first Mercedes delivered in Zurich in 1968 through a local bank in SF; the UAL credit union wouldn't do it because of the advance purchase requirement, but it took just a couple of phone calls to find a bank who would - and that was 36 years ago. Can't imagine it's not easier now [no Internet, no easy faxing, all snail mail in those days]....

Yes they do offer two free round trip tickets. But sometimes, you make the amendments to the order, that can effect the delivery day, while you already have an order number and can work with the travel agency.Travel agency needs just an order number and do not care about the delivery date, it's between you and Volvo. So, you would want to "seal" the order and then purchase the tickets. Though, if do not make any changes, your order confirmation has a guaranteed delivery day on it, and you can start working with the travel agency right then.

When I have discussed the issue with my credit union they had offered the following:- a bridge unsecured loan at 5.9% until car will arrive, which will be converted to their promotional 2.9% auto loan, once I can transfer the title to them at the registration.

I did not go for that, because I make just 2% on my saving account, so I have financed myself. I am dutifully "pay" my loan back to myself every month (I plan to save that amount in 2-3 years) loosing 2% interest on my savings, but "gaining" 2.9% to 5.9% of unpaid interest on a loan.

But if I would not have enough money on my saving I would definitely go with the proposal from the credit union.

I will be graduating from college in december and already have a fulltime job lined up, starting January. I want a fully loaded Volvo s40. My local dealership wants me to come by and take a look. What can I expect? What questions should I ask?

And you do not need any discussions. The OSD is exactly what it is said at volvocars.com. No gimmicks, no hidden cost, just pure fun and excitement for people who like to travel and, accidently, want to buy a Volvo.

Actually it requires the Premium or Select Package. Even following the link above and clicking through, it states that in bold on the top. However, there are not hidden costs and you do not have to even pay the delivery charge. FYI, I just purchased my S40 T5 6M AWD through their Expat program which is a little less than the OSD prices since I am currently in Denmark. Fantastic car at a fantastic price.

If you are going with a fully loaded S40, the least expensive by far is through OSD. In fact they even give you airfare. All you need is time to go pick it up in Sweden and wait for it to arrive in 4-6 weeks after you drop it off in Europe. Noone in the US can compare in pricing, not yet anyway. You can also customize it a little more this way.

For the basic versions, it's better through the dealer since OSD is not avaialable without the expensive options.

A local reputable dealer advertised a base S40 model last weekend for a price between $21.7 and $21.8K.

This same dealer had 3 or 4 base '04.5 models (with auto, of course, but no options) back in May. I'm guessing they won't be stocking that many stripped '05 models with stick. Seems that the introduction of geartronic (sportronic, tiptronic, or whatever you want to call it!) transmissions have further diminished the demand for sticks within sport sedans.

"Seems that the introduction of geartronic (sportronic, tiptronic, or whatever you want to call it!) transmissions have further diminished the demand for sticks within sport sedans."

Yah right, who are they trying to fool? It's still a slipping slush box w/ high possibility delay shifting. Only CVT w/ simulated gears or the VW/Audi DSG can provide you smooth & non-slip performance w/o the 3rd the pedal.

The DSG will eventually be adopted by the Focus family -- stay tuned.

I have a tendency to shift my stick into neutral frequently, I wonder if DSG allows that easily. I assume the CVT w/ simulated gears can do that simply by shifting into CVT mode. So far, only the Focus II 1.6 diesel has this kind of CVT tranny.

No I do not work for Volvo. There is about 5 dealerships in my area. I got the car so low by playing dealerships off each other. I would get the best price from one dealership and bring it to the second and so on. The only problem I have had in getting my S40 is it has to be specially ordered from Sweden because there was not a car with the options I wanted in the US.

....... All do respect Hellix, but a dealer isn't going to take a $2,000 beating even if he had to order it from the 13th Galaxy and get's a Christmas invitation from the Pope .. I have a funny feeling if you went over your figures you missed a number here and there .. especially Volvo's, they're not distressed merchandise .................